Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 161, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1916 — Page 3

LIQUID FIRE IS THE INVENTION OF AUSTRALIAN

Eccentric John Macgarrigle Sold War Device to German Government. / KEPT COMPOSITION A SECRET .Zealous Inventor Wanted to Rid Land of Noxious Bushes —Observers Describe Tests of Machine—Was Man of Remarkable Talents. Sydney, Australia. —The German liquid fire-spraying device in use on the war’s western front sprang not from Teutonic brains, but from theK head of an eccentric Australian, John Macgarrigle. This fact has just been learned here, but it has ample corroboration. Macgarrigle is dead, but the hideous engine he contrived still exists, and it is being. recalled by intimates of his that several years ago he ■went to Germany and there sold the thing to the military powers of that land. He had previously tried the ■British ■war office and the Commonwealth (government, but the former declined to treat with him on the ground that his invention was in contravention to the laws of humanity and the principles of The Hague convention, while the latter simply ignored his proffer apparently as being that of a crank. He also tried the French or the Italian government —it is not certain which — with equally fruitless results, but when it came to the kaiser’s country he had a warm reception. “The German government snapped it up," he told several of his friends. “I was over to Germany some time ago and I got this off and several other patents." Macgarrigle, commonly called “Jimmy" Macgarrigle, was a genius, but, like most of his stamp, erratic and unbusinesslike, and he died poor and virtually unknown. One of his traits was excessive secretiveness although there can be no question that he was a wonder in his way—which forbade his committing any of his inchoate Ideas to paper, with the result that they went to the grave with him; and he was so impracticable in judging his own works that the more humane of them could not be commercialized for his and the general good. So, beyond the fire-squirt and the few other inventions which he “got off” in Germany, there is little to show for his versatility and ingenuity. His “Fire-Squirt Ship.” Macgarrigle’s home was at Warnfceral, near Gosford, New South Wales, where he maintained a laboratory. George Z. Dupain, a friend, writing of the old fellow to the Daily Telegraph, says: “After dwelling on the virtues of bis quick-drying cement, anti-fouling paint, patent boot polish, a street car ticket system, and other things, he led me back to his house, and showed me the plan of a peculiar ■vessel which looked like a man-of-war. It was roughly drawn, for old MacgarTigle was a bad penman, but as soon as he began to explain matters I understood. This was what he called his patent fire-squirt ship. It was built to carry a certain liquid below the waterline, and in every portion of the hull there were ball-shaped affairs, which, he explained, could not be pierced by any modern projectile. Indeed, the whole vessel seemed to be made in such a way that no portion

MRS. ELIHU ROOT, JR.

Mrs. Elihu Root, Jr., is the daugh-ter-in-law of Former Senator Root of New York. She was Aliga Stryker, . daugb* ar of the president of Hamilton college. The two families have been Intimately related for a number of years.

CZAR’S BODYGUARD TAKES THE FIELD

That Czar Nicholas is to personally take the field in the Russian reals tance against the invading Teutonic forces is evidenced by the fact that his famous bodyguard of picked Cossack fighters has been ordered to the defense ot Warsaw.

was other than round. He had certain receptacles for enormous pumps worked by hydraulic pressure, and these pumps would throw a liquid up to three or four miles, and even more, according to their size. “He explained that a German had invented a pump to throw a liquid five miles. Whether this was correct or not I never took the trouble to find out, but when old Macgarrigle had explained more detailß, which I could not quite follow, he told me about his fire squirt. He pledged me to secrecy. “He told me that he had found a chemical compound which would take fire when it came into contact with the air. With further experimentation he had resolved this into a liquid form, preserving the same properties, *and then he hit upon applying it to war purposes. This liquid, he explained, would" burn a certain time, and whpn on fire its density was reduced and it would run about anywhere and burn everything it came in contact with. A constant stream of the stuff would burn incessantly. Its temperature was high enough to produce a dull red heat in either iron or steel, and if the pressure in the firing apparatus was increased it would shrivel up everything it came intcf contact with. He went on to explain that it could be fired in a modern shell which, when it had burst, would spread the liquid. He became so enthusiastic over this invention that his eyes glittered and he paced his laboratory, making convulsive gestures and saying that the nation that bought this invention would have the power of controlling the world and, if necessary, of stopping war altogether. “I began to think the man was a maniac and looked around for a method of escape in case he might go completely off his head. However, he calmed down and I took courage to question him about this ghastly machine, even demanding that he should give me proof that what he said was true. He laughed and said that if I came up next evening at dusk he would prove the truth of his remarks. ► First Exhibit of Liquid Fire. “Well, I went. Furthermore, I took some friends. Macgarrigle did not object in the least. He took us outside on the slope of Mount Pleasant (the inventor lived on Mount Pleasant) and made us all sit down at about ten yards distant from him. He disappeared for a while in the bush and then came back with what I imagined to be an old oil drum and an ordinary large garden spray. I could not see what he was doing because he turned his back on us, but presently he held the spray up in the air. “I saw him stand firmly as if to make an effort, then he quickly pressed the handle of the squirt and a long stream of white fire shot out from the muzzle of the spray anil fell to the ground, there burning brightly for an instant. “The thing was done so quickly and all was over in such a short time that we were nonplused. Then Macgarrigle walked calmly toward us and handed me the spray, saying; ‘Well, what do you think of my invention now?’ He gave us then a lecture on the possibilities of the fire squirt. I examined the spray carefully (it was just light enough to distinguish objects at short range), pulled out the plunger, smelled it and tried to seek any clue as to the nature of the stuff. When Macgarrigle saw what I was doing he laughed heartily and said I wouldn’t find anything there. However, I noted that he had evidently Bcrewed offc the top of the spray when squirting the liquid, because he had failed to put it back properly, and also that the leather plunger was slightly charred. I carefully noted the place where the fire had fallen and took the trouble to examine it early next day, and, sure enough, all the herbage was burned and wherever the liquid had run only charred vegetation remained. I was astounded. I perceived immediately that his words true, and the possibilities of his invention were so mighty as to make me temporarily shudder.” Mr. Dupain became much attached to Macgarrigle and spent many hours with him. Once when he meant to pay the inventor a surprise visit he learned that the old man had departed

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, INP.

for Europe; but as soon as he learned of Macgarrigle’s return he sought his home and heard from Macgarrigle that he had sold his fire squirt to Ger many. It appears from an account of Macgarrigle given to the Daily Telegraph by another friend, a newspaper man, that the fire machine was designed also for the destruction of prickly pear which is one of the curses of Australia and has already ruined huge tracts of good land in Queensland. This contributor says; “He told me that he had'offered tc clear the whole of the pear in Queensland under certain terms, but the government had turned it down. This seemed at first inexplicable, as at the time the government was offering a reward of $50,000 for any effective plan for getting rid of the pest. When 1 told him this he scouted the idea of anything so paltry and dealt with a sum of that sort with the contempt of a multimillionaire. “He said that the only condition under which he would show his hand was that he should receive all expenses and get the freehold of all the land he cleared. As there were at the time about 20,000,000 acres affected one may understand the reason for turning down the offer. The area now, by the way, runs into 30,000,000 acres. As I expressed doubt about the effectiveness of his plan, he invited me to his place the following night to see the squirt at work. But it was a condition that no one was to accompany me. I kept the appointment. “He began operations by seating me in a chair, from which I was not to move. By this means he made it impossible for me to get a close glimpse of the machine, but the drum which carried the oil seemed in the darkness to be similar in shape to the receptacle which appears in pictures of those Germans at the front engaged in this 'sort of warfare. He told me he was ready, after pumping up the machine, and then let it go. It ejected a constant stream of liquid fire from a short hose length for some minutes, spurting over a distance of about forty feet. With the same mysterious manner that he had begun operations, he bundled the plant up and put it away in a room and locked the door. “Then he sat down beside me and yarned. After urging that this thing would not only destroy prickly pear, but noxious shrubbery and weeds of all sorts, he told me that what it was originally intended for was an instrument of warfare. ‘Man,’ he said with great confidence, ‘this thing would destroy soldiers as if they were rats. What bayonet charge could stand up against it? My idea is not a small squirt like this, but as large as a big fire-fighting hose sending out a stream of fire with as much force and volume as the biggest water hydrant in Sydney.’ "A character of this sort naturally aroused interest, especially as he began to talk about synthetic rubber which he could make for 25 cents a pound (at a time when the genuine article was about $2.50); cements he could make at absurdly low rates, tiles, bricks, explosives, anti-fouling paint, boot dressings and other things. I began to think that I had struck an Edison,” The journalist believes that Macgarrigle sold the explosive just tioned to the Germans, and he adds; "It was terribly destructive, as an equal quantity of it with gelignite tore a hole in a piece of galvanized iron four times its size.” Fred Wright of Sydney robs the accounts of Macgarrigle of something of their romance by saying that the inventor, whom he knew well, "frequently suggested ‘wildcat’ schemes for the employment of chemicals for the destruction of prickly pear and the extermination of rabbits.” And he goes on; “Mr. Macgarrigle’s sprpy consisted of a solution of phosphorus in an inflammable liquid. He tried bisulphide of carbon as a solvent for his phosphorus and then mixed this with other combustible liquids. There was nothing particularly original in the ides and it was not at all safe to handle. We afterward experimented with hydrogen phosphide for fire sprays. His explosive consisted of a grass-tree gum compound.”

HAS TWO PURPOSES

COMBINATION OF BCREEN AND NEWSPAPER RACK. Easily Made and the Cost Is Comparatively Nothing—Can Be Draped With Silk Remnants If They Mh/Vre at Hand. A very charming little screen can be prepared from a small two-fold clgthes horse that can be purchased at a very slight cost, and we give a sketch of a novel one that serves the purpose of a newspaper rack as well The screen is draped with soft silk, the upright bars of the clothes horse

Useful Screen.

painted with enamel to match it. Enamel of almost any shade of color may be purchased for a trifle, in small tins, together with a brush fjjt putting it on, and one small tte-wll be sufficient for this purpose. Both sides of the horse are draped with silk which is arranged in plaits and gathered into a tiny frill at the top and bottom. The silk is fastened to the upper anc| lower bars with tacks and over the tacks narrow braid is fastened on with fancy brass-headed nails driven in close together.

TURN AGAIN TO PATCHWORK

Old Fashion Is Being Revived —Scrim as a Material for the Curtains.

Piecing the old-fashioned patchwork quilt is again. a popular occupation. Nursery quilts are made of heavy cotton or linen sketched with designs to be worked with floss, Mother Goose figures being favorites. Simple patterns done in blue and white or rose and white chambray are chosen for boys’ rooms. The mystic rose design, now popular, calls for a pale pink calico, a rose shade, a rich red and the right shade of green for foliage. The morning-glory pattern of rose and French blue calico, is also a favorite. The “four patches” calls for a white background dotted with tiny pink rosebuds. For a colonial bed the old log cabin design Is choßen. Loosely woven gray scrim, which is Inexpensive, would make extremely good-looking curtains for your living room or library. Use the selvage as a finish for the sides and across the bottom; hemstitch a two-inch hem. An unusual way to decorate the curtains is to embroider a stencil pattern In greens and bronze. A quaint foliage pattern would give the right effect. Place the stencil on the curtains, and with a pencil mark the pattern. By holding the pencil in an upright position and following the cut line of the stencil board, the outline pan be readily traced. Simple, sketchy stitches should be used for the embroidery, as a light shadowy effect Is desired. Another unique color combination is dull silver and orange; then when the light shines through the curtains the embroidery will emit a bright bit of color. This sort of curtain will

SILKS THAT ARE FAVORED

Quite a Variety of Different Materials Have Their Followers This Season. Taffetas, crepes, grossgralns, failles and satins are the favored fabrics, especially black satin. Taffeta, with its high luster and both soft and very" slightly stiffened finish, has manifold uses. It is exactly suited to the distended, flounced and frilly gown of today. Summer taffetas include stripes, checks, small mayflower blossoms and pompadour bouquets in subdued colorings that makfe—up well alone or In frilled or distended pannier styles, with a shirt of plain silk, chiffon aceordionplaited, mousseline embroidered and so on. Light gray, champagne, old rose and French blue shades are smart. ✓V sr For elaborate evening gowns, TOlleT net or mousseline and taffeta are worked up together with metal embroidery or metal embroidered lace applied, and the result Is exquisite. Silver or gold cloth skirts are made wjth overdresses of plain or printed taffeta. Gray taffeta with pompadour bouquets is combined with old blue mousseline. A late Idea for the use of taffeta is a set of short directoire cape and hat to match. The hat is of taffeta or much trimmed with the silk, and the short cape is edged with a tiny plaited ruffle, has a turnover collar and is draped on the shoulders. Longer capes or wTaps In light shades of taffeta, faille, gros de Londres, etc., are worn in the evening. Some new printed taffetas have inch or two-inch stripe in a cashmere design on a neutral ground. Others have simple lines of different lengths, geometrical In effect. Broche satin in rose designs with foliage are on satin. Foulards in polka dots, rings, single blossoms, pompa-

The pockets for the newspapers cover the lower half of the screen and they are made with the same silk that had been used for covering the screen. The upright bars of the horse are finished off at the upper ends with small brass balls, which may be procured from almost any hardware store at a trifling cost

TWO STYLES HAVE CHARM

Flower-Decked Millinery and the New Petticoats Win the Admiration of All. Summer would not be summer without the flower-decked tiat, but the notion rarely lasts longer except on the large picture hat of leghorn, crin, or hemp, which completes the June bridesmaid’s costume or the summer beauty’s dainty frock. This season, however, there is a strong indication that flowers will play more than their ordinary role in summer millinery. The medfum-brimmed, rather stifftailored hat, with ltß upstanding bouquet of vari-colored blossoms* so popular some years back, is being noticed here and there; one see, also, a number of flower turbans; flower crowns are favored with certain costumes, and wreaths are quite popular. The flowerstenciled hats are very well liked indeed. Ribbon, too, is smart for trimming, and ostrich, in the form of fringe and fancies, is a popular trimming. The new petticoats are delicious with their full ruches round the hem, the most elegant, destined for wear under the gossamer summer frocks that are coming, being lightly wired half way up the skirt to give that billowy aspect of movement that is as refreshing as a breeze on a hot summer’s day.

look especially well In a room where blue is the dominating color.

SUGGESTIONS OF FALL HERE

This fall suit of navy blue sergehas a box-plaited skirt with a plain gore on the side. Medium length jacket with set-in pockets. Collars and cuffs of white silk poplin. The coat is piped with white poplin, white pearl buttons are used on pockets and sleeves. One large white button closing medium-width belt.

dour effects, mayflowers and spring blossoms, such as clover, buttercups, etc. are stunning designs. Foulard is cool, durable and very attractive as a summer silk. Tinsel woven crepes, made up with cloth of gold or silver, Yhake elegant evening costumes. A new crepe swansdown is as silky and downy as one can imagine. Just a little crepey, with the silky down finish, that gives it a wofrderful effect made up alone or with a satin taffeta, chiffon, etc.

Wraps of Silk.

Wraps of taffetas in delicate evening shades, as well as those which offer dark blue, black, gay, brown and green, are very smart. Not more so, however, than the cape wraps made of dark blue serge and black satin, while capes in army gray or of any of the colored cloths used for foreign officers’ capes are most recherche. Black satin is making its bow as a fabric for separate coat, jacket and wrap wear. A number have been noticed during the week, worn with costumes of different mold. It is thought the separate box coat of black taffeta or satin will be quite modish for this season’s usage.

Fitted Veil.

A veil, designed by a Boston woman, has a neckband forming the loweredge. This is fastened In the back with a clasp and prevents the veil from bunching. * ■ • t

Embroidered Chiffon.

Chiffon embroidered in self color or contracting color in largeflowers is much used in combination with plain taffeta or crepe for afternoon frocks.

HOME TOWN HELPS

LET EACH CHILD HATE PLOT Bchool Gardens Bhould Be Divided 8o as to Give an Individual Responsibility. Pupils should have individual gardens. Give each child a plot and have the respohsibility his alone if only a single plant can be grown on that plot, or use a pot plant, advises the Washington Star. Let the child see the result of his care or neglecL This cannot be accomplished where several children work in the same plot or care for the same plant. Not many grown people, if they are really good gardeners. would care to have each of the neighbors come in and take a hand at his garden. Individual work stimulates the interest and pride in the work, encourages skill and judgment that is entirely lost by collective work and at the same time develops the idea of responsibility. Limited space necessitates the use of only compact, low-growing plants. In vegetables, radishes, lettuce, beans, bqets and similar plants. The children should do all the work, preparing the land, planting the seed and caring for the plants, the teacher explaining each step. Bulletin 218 of the department of agriculture describes the work and it is sent free on application. From Washington southward seeds may be planted in the open ground, but in the North the seeds should be sown in boxes and kept growing until the middle of May to the first of June, according to the latitude, when they can be planted in their permanent locations. Flowering plants that are good for the purpose are ageratum, nasturtium, petunia, California poppy, zinnia and portulaca.

THE HOME TOWN Borne folks leave home for money And some leave home for fame, Some seek skies always sunny, And some depart In shame. I care not what the reason Men travel East or West, Or what the month or season. The home town Is the best. The home town is the glad town Where something real abides, 'Tis not the money mad town That all its spirit hides. Though strangers scoff and flout It And even jeer Its name, It Jias a charm about It No other town can claim. The home town skies seem bluer Than skies that stretch away. The home town friends seem truer And* kinder through the day. And whether glum or cheery Light hearted or depressed Or struggle fit or weary I like the home town best. Let him who will go wander To distant towns to live. Of some things I am fonder Than all they have to give. The gold of distant places Could not repay me quite For those familiar faces That keep the home town bright. —Detroit Free Press. t : r r

How to Use the Pruning Shears.

Double-cutter shears used In orchard pruning give good satisfaction when used upon limbs smaller than three inches in diameter, writes M. G. Kains in Farm and Home. When car© is taken to cut through the bark all around the branches to be removed,’'' the wounds heal over much better than when the growing layer of bark and young wood are crushed by being squeezed from opposite sides without being cut all around first. One caution is necessary in using this implement: When making cuts of forked limbs it is necessary to avoid bearing down, because the main branch to be left is likely to split and a heavy load of fruit the following summer is almost sure to break the limb at this point. Effort should always be made to lift when making such cuts. Indeed, it is a good plan always to cut off the branch a foot or so beyond the point where the crotch is and then to remove the stub with a second cut

Advantage of Playground.

Some small towns have adopted the plan of providing golf, baseball and tennis grounds for the use of the public, and the experiments made alon& this line so far have been highly successful. One of the first and most satisfactory results of providing playgrounds is shade evident by the young people being content to remain at home rather than to wander off after entertainment and amusement elsewhere. Every step toward taking the dullness out of the small towns will help to lessen the congestion in the large cities.

Make Lawn Attractive.

Don’t neglect to provide space on the house lot for a flower garden and shrubs. A nice lawn is attractive and. needs something to relieve the monotony of color.

City Building Plan Adopted.

Sacramento, Cal., recently adopted, through its commissioners, a city plan, which provides that industrial plants, shall be permitted only in designated, districts.

Good Paint on Bad Surface.

Good paint on a. bad surface is like unto a" house bullded upon the sand.,